


Stolen Bodies, Stolen Lives

by Purpleologist



Series: Season 14 Codas [1]
Category: Supernatural, Wayward Sisters (TV)
Genre: Coda, Episode: s14e02 Gods and Monsters, F/F, Family Feels, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, M/M, Phone Calls & Telephones, Season/Series 13 Spoilers, Season/Series 14 Spoilers, Spoilers, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 23:00:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16355915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Purpleologist/pseuds/Purpleologist
Summary: Coda for 14x02 “Gods and Monsters”After Nick’s harsh words and his failed attempt at parenting Jack, Cas makes a call to none other than Claire Novak, having realized that he owes her a few apologies.





	1. Stolen Bodies

**Author's Note:**

> This is both a coda for 14x02 “Gods and Monsters” and a continuation of my Wayward Sisters Mini Bang story “Holding On To You”. It’s probably best if you read that before you dive into this one (it’s only about five thousand words, a quick read about Claire’s mission to avenge Kaia and how not okay her family is about that ~~along with some dreamwalker magic ~~, but you’d still be able to enjoy this if you’ve just watched 13x10 “Wayward Sisters” and not read my fic.~~~~

            _October 19, 2018_

            _I never should’ve agreed to taking a break from finding Kaia’s killer. What started as just a favor for Jody has turned into going on weekly hunts in and around Sioux Falls. First it was the salt and burn, next it was a werewolf case a couple hours away (Jody_ insisted _that with my “knowledge” of werewolves, I’d be the best person to help her. As if turning into a monster was any sort of learning experience. All it did was teach me not to be a dumbass.), and now I’m helping Patience with her first vamp nest. Stupid family._

           Claire silently seethed as she tossed her machete on the floor, the metal blade clanging against the hardwood. It wasn’t that a vampire nest was _difficult_ , it was that it distracted from Kaia. And with Jody being extra on edge since Sam called and said that he was hunting for Dean, suddenly it was impossible to sneak out of this house to hunt without someone being forced to tag along. Every time she went out, it was either Jody lecturing her, or Alex talking about “other options”, or Patience not knowing what the hell she was doing. Not to mention, none of them liked that she still wasn’t over Kaia’s killer. Yes, she’d given up trying to put this together logically, with the hunting tactics she’d learned over years of pain and hard work, but she wasn’t _done_.

           She just… couldn’t gather the nerve to ask Castiel about how angels dreamwalk.

           Talking to Castiel was… painful, sometimes. Especially around birthdays or holidays or really _any_ days. Any day when she thought of her father… And to see his face and hear his voice but know that he’d been dead and gone for almost ten years… It hurt.

           She supposed she could text him. He loved to text, frequently (and incorrectly) using emoticons and abbreviations. Claire couldn’t tell if he was just trying to “get with the times”, as Jody so often did, or if he just liked them, but they made her smile a bit regardless. Stupid angel. Sometimes she wondered if he texted Dean like this.

           And _there_ was the other issue.

           With Dean… gone, she doubted that Castiel had the time to talk to her. She could _feel_ his pain in the Grace he’d left behind, a hollow reverberation of loss and grief. Castiel was no doubt busy helping Sam look for him, and if he wasn’t doing that, he was probably babysitting Jack the Nephilim that Kaia had mentioned.

           Because even the angel had other family to worry about.

           Not that— Not that she thought of Castiel as _family_. Jody was her family. Jody and Alex and Donna and, she _guessed_ , even Patience. Castiel, he was different. He wasn’t her father, that was damn well certain, but… he looked out for her. He kept an eye out, texted her and asked how she was doing, told her about hunts that Sam and Dean couldn’t get to.

           She hated him. Sort of.

           It was complicated.

           Her phone vibrated from her dresser and she picked it up to look at the screen.

           Apparently “Complicated” was texting her. For the first time in months, she might add.

**_Castiel_ **

_Hello Claire._

_Hey Cas_

           She never called him Cas to his face— to her _father’s_ face. It felt too… casual. But it was much easier to type C-a-s and pretend that this was normal, that he was a… family friend and not an angel of the Lord.

_What’s up_

_I just wanted to talk._

_Nick said something… interesting to me today._

_Nick is Satans meatsack, right_

_Correct._

           It baffled Claire that the Winchesters not only managed to start and stop the Apocalypse threefold and adopt the AntiChrist, but also become buds with the dude who used to be Lucifer himself. Thinking on that, she was a little grateful that she’d agreed to go to Jody’s instead of joining them in their Bunker. From the things they’d told her, there was always some disaster or another going on.

_Whatd he say_

_He was… angry about the fact that your father was my vessel._

_He thought I was no better than Lucifer for taking a man from his family._

_And youre telling me about this because???_

_You know damn well how I feel about this_

           Did he really think he would get any sympathy from her? He _did_ steal a man from his family. He— He stole her _father_. He stole her _childhood_. He took every smile, every laugh, every game night, every Christmas. Every. Single. Thing.

           Her dad… he never got to see her grow up. He never got to see her first date (not that dating has been her top priority) or her sweet sixteen (though her “party” was nothing more than sitting in a shelter, praying to a god she didn’t believe in that she would live another year) or watch her graduate high school (not that a GED was much to watch…). She knew that Castiel was a vital piece to helping the Winchesters protect the world and all, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t allowed to wish that her dad was still here with her.

_I know how you feel about our… situation._

_That’s precisely why I wanted to talk to you._

_I wanted to apologize… Again._

           Apologize… As if an “I’m sorry” could undo what she went through, what she lost.

_This would be far easier to explain if we talked on the phone._

_Is that alright with you?_

           And yet…

  _Yeah I guess_

**_Incoming call from: Castiel_ **

           It helped.

           “Hello Claire.”


	2. Stolen Lives

           “Hello Claire.” His voice was familiar, but at the same time not. She chose to focus on the “not”.

           “Hi Castiel.” It pained her to get the words out. This, _this_ is why texting was easier. When they texted, Castiel was faceless, _voiceless_. When they texted, she didn’t suddenly turn back into a twelve-year-old girl who just wanted her daddy to come home.

           “I want to apologize for everything,” as if “everything” was enough to cover how much there was to be sorry for. “When I first came to Earth, I was blinded by my mission. All I cared about was finding the Righteous Man and ensuring that he would follow his destiny and lead Heaven to victory. I didn’t care about humans or their feelings. They were merely a… curiosity.”

           “Gee, thanks.” She muttered drily, hoping that she sounded a lot more indifferent than she felt.

           “But I’ve changed, Claire. I—” his voice was shaky, unsure, something she hadn’t heard often, from any angel. “I know what loss feels like,” the Grace nestled next to her soul shook like a rubber band stretched too tight and it made it hard for her to breathe, because not only did it resonate in her soul, but in her _heart_. Memories of soft smiles on Jody’s front porch, of gentle fingers and broken promises flashed through her mine, breaking her again by a tenfold. “I know it’s been many years and that I’ve apologized before, but now… Now I truly understand.

           “I also understand that words are not always a solace when you’re grieving, but it’s all I seem able to give you. I’ve found that talking to people helps, but I’m not exactly the best person considering our circumstances.

           “But just know that I am here, Claire. If you need my help for _anything_ , do not hesitate to call.”

           The line was quiet for several moments and she could hear the chatter through her closed bedroom door as Jody, Alex, and Patience made dinner. Laughter and light and smiles amidst the bleak hunting life. Out of habit, her eyes drifted to the box of discarded research, filled with messy notes and crumbled papers and torn-down pictures.

            _If you need anything…_

           “Actually, Cas, I could use some help.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got this idea after Nick and Cas’ conversation in the Bunker and thought that it would possibly do Nick some good to meet Claire (of course, that was before he became a murderer). Then I decided “Hey lemme do something that would’ve been good to see but hopefully won’t get in the way of canon drama” plus me loving some Cas and Claire healing and VOILA, a coda was born.  
> Hope you enjoyed it! I don’t know how many of these I’ll do this season, I guess it depends on my inspiration. I’m going to try and make a habit of finishing fics before I post them (the guilt of unfinished fics mannnnn), but I DEFINITELY want to do more with my Mini Bang universe (as you can tell by all my cliffhangers xD), so be on the look out for those!


End file.
